{"id":2713,"date":"2014-10-16T16:49:58","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T16:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=2713"},"modified":"2014-10-16T16:49:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-16T16:49:58","slug":"exit-voice-ramblings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/exit-voice-ramblings\/","title":{"rendered":"Exit & Voice Ramblings"},"content":{"rendered":"

This certainly was a pithy read. Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States<\/em> by Albert O. Hirschman begins by stating that all organizations decline over time. Further, there are two methods of precipitating this decline: exit and voice.\u00a0Exit<\/em> is simply leaving or withdrawing from the relationship. For example, a customer leaves a firm and buys a substitute good, or a person leaves a political party, or a citizen emigrates to another country. Alternatively, voice<\/em> attempts to repair or improve the relationship through communication of complaint, grievance, protest, or proposal for change. For example, workers or customers express concerns to management declining product quality, or members try to change the course of a political party. Hirschman argues that economists have traditionally focused on exit<\/em> and not voice<\/em>, while political scientists have traditionally focused on voice<\/em> and not exit<\/em>. The author here argues that the parties faced with such a challenge should focus on the interaction of both mechanisms.<\/p>\n

To put this in simple terms, citizens of a country may respond to increasing political repression in two ways: emigrate or protest. Likewise, employees can choose to quit their unpleasant job, or express their concerns in an effort to improve the situation. Customers unsatisfied with service may ask for the manager or choose to shop elsewhere. By understanding the relationship between exit<\/em> and voice<\/em>, and the interplay that loyalty<\/em> has with these choices, organizations can craft the means to address more effectively their members\u2019 concerns and issues, and thereby effect improvement. Failure to understand these competing pressures can lead to organizational decline and possible failure.<\/p>\n

Hirschman appears most enthusiastic when discussing the worst possible scenario of interaction between voice<\/em> and exit<\/em>:<\/p>\n

The basic point is that competition may result merely in the mutual luring over of each others\u2019 customers on the part of a group of competing firms [or political parties]; and that to this extent competition and product diversification especially when, in its absence, customers would either be able to bring more effective pressures upon management toward product improvement or would stop using up their energies in a futile search for the \u201cideal\u201d product [or political party]. . . . Nevertheless the radical critique is correct in pointing out that competitive political systems have a considerable capacity to divert what might otherwise be a revolutionary ground swell into tame discontent with the governing party. Although this capacity may normally be an asset, one can surely conceive of circumstances under which it would turn into a liability.[1]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Having said this, what in the world can I, personally, possibly take away from this book?<\/p>\n

Striking the right balance between exit<\/em> and voice<\/em>.\u00a0Luring over each others\u2019 customers. That sure sounds like it could be applicable to our church. We are located in the heart of downtown, in a middle-size, Bible-belt community. Drive one block, and you pass two churches of varying denominations. On my way to the church office, I pass no fewer than seven churches! There is major competition! As a church, we face the perpetual challenge of knowing how engaged members are, how likely we are to remain members, and when they might cease to be members. If we treat our church as a business, and we are attempting to gain members, or perhaps a better term would be disciples<\/em>, how do we prevent exit? If I pare it down further, in a church of 4000 members and a staff of 40, we are constantly competing for participation. Children\u2019s ministry needs Sunday school teachers, but the youth ministry has a ski trip and needs chaperones, and the finance committee has no chairperson! But who will keep the nursery? And, speaking of missions, who is going to join me in Haiti? It is hard to promote a trip for \u201cpartnership development.\u201d Do I have to throw in a water system installation to get people interested?<\/p>\n

After reading it, do you believe Hirschman really understands exactly what he has written with respect to our current religious climate? And then I think back to our cohort discussion last week, and in Stefania\u2019s famous words: \u201cPeople just need to be introduced to Jesus and that encounter is enough to change lives. Everything else is details.\u2026People leave not because they don\u2019t know Jesus, but because they get tired of the politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do we need the bells and whistles to promote loyalty and prevent exit or protest? Logic would indicate that the church must be cognizant of these dynamics, but understand and apply them in the context of God’s message rather than as they would be used in the secular, commercial world. In other words, in the commercial or political arena, the goal is one of numbers and sales. Success is measured by votes or dollar\u00a0figures. But, attracting and keeping congregants in the religious world would seem best served by effectively communicating God’s message in a way that is both genuine and compelling. Simply drawing church members with bricks, mortar and showmanship will not create a lasting church or one that satisfies the needs of people searching for truth. If a church can find that elusive path of touching people in the community in a way that resonates and makes God’s Word relevant to those hearing it, then that church is effectively battling exit<\/em> and paying attention to voice<\/em>. And, after all, this is what we are charged by God to do.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Albert Hirschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States<\/em> (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970), 28.<\/p>\n

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This certainly was a pithy read. Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States by Albert O. Hirschman begins by stating that all organizations decline over time. Further, there are two methods of precipitating this decline: exit and voice.\u00a0Exit is simply leaving or withdrawing from the relationship. For example, a customer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,251,481],"class_list":["post-2713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-hirschman","tag-lgp4-2","cohort-lgp4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2717,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions\/2717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}